Another day, another death involving a cruise ship passenger. Annually, around 200 passengers will pass away into the great beyond while at sea. No there's not a serial killer targeting cruise ship passengers. Most of these are natural causes.
Instead of the cruise ship in the equation, I'm going to focus on jet skiing. Annually, 40 to 50 people die while riding a jet ski, but 500 to 700 people suffer injuries while jet skiing. That's still a pretty low number, but each of these was real people with real lives. They each thought they were just going to have a little bit of summer fun and paid the ultimate price. Sorry, it's bumming me a bit out.
A 73-year-old British-Czechoslovakia national was on a cruise ship. She was enjoying some time on a jet ski on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas when tragedy struck. The Royal Bahamas Police Force responded to reports of the tragedy on March 22.
Cruise Ship Passenger Dies
"Upon [their] arrival," read the Royal Bahamas Police Force statement, "officers conducted their initial investigation which revealed that the female who was a passenger on a cruise line was riding a Jet ski when she allegedly lost control and collided with a rock resulting in the accident."
The cruise ship passenger died at the scene despite medical intervention. She had been a passenger on the Holland America Line cruise ship in the area.
"Holland America Line regrets to confirm that a passenger onboard Nieuw Amsterdam passed away following a tragic incident on a personal watercraft," read the statement. "The guest, a 73-year-old woman, died on March 22 while the ship was calling at Half Moon Cay, The Bahamas."
"We are in contact with the guest's family and doing everything we can to support them during this difficult time," Holland America Line continued. "The accident is currently being investigated by the Bahamian authorities. Out of respect for the family and guest, we do not have further information to share."
All of this reminds me of my wife. On our wedding day, I had wanted to show up to the ceremony on a jet ski. No, I'm not joking. But she told me that jet skis are dangerous and that I was far too clumsy to ride one. I guess in one aspect she's right. Don't tell her I said that.
